BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (October 9, 2012) – Put on your game face, you are about to enter today’s brave new worlds.

The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville (Q Building, 800 S. Rolling Road) has mounted an eclectic exhibit entitled “Imagined Realities,” showcasing the created universes of nationally known illustrators and concept designers.The exhibit will run from Oct. 15 through Nov. 21 in the Q Building Gallery. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays.

The exhibit allows viewers to explore the realms of fantasy and science fiction found in books, online and in video games as they travel through time to worlds that exist only in an artist’s imagination and explore civilizations that may never exist in reality.

Curated by CCBC faculty Nicole Buckingham, Art Gallery Coordinator, and Erik Miller, professor of Art, the exhibit features works by illustrators and video game concept artists:

Piero MacGowan (http://projectexodus.org)
According to his blog, “Piero MacGowan is a Mexican-born Illustrator, Fine Artist and College Professor based in Baltimore, USA. He works full-time as a Senior Concept Artist at Firaxis Games, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, where he has contributed to titles such as XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Sid Meier's Civilization series. He obtained his B.F.A. in Illustration with Honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has since become a professor in the Illustration department, and enjoys creating his personal work at home, where he uses both digital and traditional tools to make his art.”

Sean Andrew Murray (www.seanandrewmurray.com/gallery1/index.html)
“I am a professional concept artist and illustrator. Currently, I work at Harmonix as a Senior Concept Artist working on a super-secret, super-awesome project,” writes Murray in his blog.

John Jude Palencar (www.johnjudepalencar.com)
“Artist and illustrator, John Jude Palencar is known throughout the world for this distinctive ethereal style and unique conceptualizations,” notes his website. “His work has appeared on hundreds of book covers in over thirty countries.” He is well-known for his work on Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon” series of young adult novels.

Jen Zee (http://jenzeejunk.blogspot.com/)
According to her webpage, “ Zee completed her bachelors in undergraduate B.S. in Informatics and minor in Mathematics at the University of Washington in Seattle and stayed a fifth year to further explore and satiate her artistic inclinations by participating in a nine month collaborative digital animation project with the Computer Science department.” Today she works as the Art Director at Supergiant Games and is most famous for her work on the action-RPG game Bastion.

According to the curators’ statement, “Imagined Realities” features the works of artists who create with such fantastic attention to detail that believability is almost impossible to question. They convince us through flawless technique and unique visual storytelling to accept flights of fantasy that we know cannot be true. And they challenge us to enter into worlds where it is possible to be both accurate and imaginative within the same compositional spaces.”

This six-week homage to “Imagined Realities” is funded through a $2000 matching grant from the Maryland State Arts Council that includes support for John Jude Palencar as Artist-in-Residence at CCBC Catonsville on Oct. 18-19. While at CCBC, Palencar will be visiting various classes and discussing his work, offering insight into both the field of illustration and how students should proceed with their studies if they are interested in illustration as a career.

On Friday, Oct. 19, a panel discussion featuring John Jude Palencar and Piero MacGowan in person and Sean Andrew Murray via Skype will be held from 6 – 7:30 p.m. in the Q Lounge and a reception will be held 7- 9 p.m. in The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville. Both events are free and open to the public.

For additional information, call The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville at 443-840-4246 during Gallery hours.

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About the Community College of Baltimore County (www.ccbcmd.edu)
CCBC offers hundreds of programs and thousands of courses helping people of all ages, backgrounds and interests earn degrees, transfer, launch or advance careers, and prepare for in-demand jobs.

Providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education since 1957, CCBC educates more than 70,000 students each year, including half of all Baltimore County residents attending college in Maryland as undergraduates. Committed to student success and the development of lifelong learners who strengthen our regional workforce and enrich our community, CCBC has also been selected to participate in Achieving the Dream, a national student success initiative. In 2011, the Chronicle of Education honored CCBC as one of only 26 community colleges across the nation named “Great Colleges to Work For.”

CCBC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.